Written questions by Martin.

What recent discussions she has had with the FCA regarding the timeline for reviewing listing rules on related party transactions in investment trusts; and if she will ask the FCA to bring forward that review, in the context of the potential implications for retail investors.

The Financial Conduct Authority is a non-governmental body which is independent from the Treasury. The Financial Conduct Authority announced its intention to consult on some aspects of the UK Listings Rules for investment entities and to complete the work by the end of the year. Further detail is available at:https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/uk-listing-rules-investment-entities-review.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of reviewing the Stamp Duty Land Tax rules for shared ownership properties, particularly the requirement for first‑time buyers to pay SDLT when staircasing above 80% ownership, despite not purchasing an additional property.

The Government already offers flexibility when SDLT is due on transactions relating to shared ownership properties. When a shared ownership lease is first granted, the purchaser can choose to either pay SDLT on the market value of the property, in which case no further SDLT will be due when purchasing additional interest in the property (including when staircasing above 80%); or instead choose to pay SDLT in stages. Purchasers of shared ownership properties can also claim First-time Buyers’ Relief (FTBR) on purchases where the value of their property does not exceed £500,000. For those purchasers who choose to pay SDLT in stages, SDLT will be payable on any staircasing transaction which takes them over 80% ownership. In those circumstances, FTBR is not available as the person staircasing is no longer a first-time buyer. The ability to choose when SDLT is due, along with the relief available to first-time buyers, can help reduce the amount of SDLT due when initially buying a shared ownership property as your first home.

How many times HMRC recorded imported goods whose country of origin was falsely labelled as Israel in 2024 .

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in Palestine are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel.Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity.

If she will list the ten most frequently (a) used commodity codes for imports and (b) types of goods imported from illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2024.

The information requested is not available.

Pursuant to the Answer of 2 July 2025 to Question 63473 on Origin Marking: Occupied Territories, how many compliance checks HMRC undertook to identify whether goods labelled as originating from Israel were produced in Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territories in 2024; and how many of those checks identified (a) non-compliance and (b) the mislabelling of goods.

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law, and that goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Israel. HMRC takes a risk-based and intelligence-led approach to tariff enforcement and routinely checks the accuracy of customs declarations. Such checks include checking material particulars such as the declared origin, value and classification of goods. Checks are conducted where risk analysis or intelligence indicates potential non-compliance, and in cases where there is a risk of customs duty under-declaration. HMRC does not publish details of numbers of checks in relation to specific countries of origin or the outcomes of those checks. However, HMRC confirms that regular and proportionate checks are carried out on Israeli goods in which they are subject to verification to check their originating status.

What was the total value of imports from Israel that were deemed ineligible for preferential tariff treatment under the UK-Israel Trade and Partnership Agreement in 2024.

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity HMRC encourages members of the public to report cases of potentially fraudulent activity either via the ‘report fraud to HMRC’ function on GOV.UK or the HMRC fraud hotline on 0800 788 887 available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. HMRC takes such matters seriously and investigates them in detail The overseas business risk guidance, available on GOV.UK, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled. Data on imports from Israel are available from UK Trade Info: uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/.

Pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2025 to Question 61108 on Import Duties: Israeli Settlements, what compliance checks HMRC undertakes to identify goods whether goods labelled as originating from Israel were produced in Israeli settlements located in the Occupied Palestinian Territories; what estimate HMRC has made of the number and proportion of goods imported from Israel which are labelled as produced in Israel but were produced in Occupied Palestinian Territories; and whether HMRC levies sanctions in relation to the mislabelling of goods.

The UK Government has a clear position that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law. Goods produced in these settlements are not entitled to benefit from preferential tariff treatment under the UK’s current trade agreements with the Palestinian Authority and Government of Israel Where there are doubts about the origin of goods that have been declared as being of Israeli origin, HMRC will undertake checks to verify the origin of those goods to ensure fiscal compliance. HMRC does not however provide specific details regarding checks as it may serve to undermine compliance activity HMRC encourages members of the public to report cases of potentially fraudulent activity either via the ‘report fraud to HMRC’ function on GOV.UK or the HMRC fraud hotline on 0800 788 887 available Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. HMRC takes such matters seriously and investigates them in detail The overseas business risk guidance, available on GOV.UK, provides information for UK operators on how goods from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories should be labelled. Data on imports from Israel are available from UK Trade Info: uktradeinfo.com/trade-data/.

How much money the UK Government collected in 2024 from tariffs imposed on goods imported from illegal settlements within the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

HMRC only publish receipts at a national level, and they cannot be broken down further with sufficient accuracy, due to the way the information is captured.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to orchestral tax relief on (a) the ability of orchestras to operate within the UK and (b) the ability of British orchestras to bring money from abroad to the UK through touring.

Orchestra tax relief is available for costs incurred on goods or services that are used or consumed in the UK. This replaces the previous rule that qualifying costs were those incurred on goods or services provided from the UK or the European Economic Area (EEA). To ease the transition to the new rule, orchestras with concerts in train on 1 April 2024 were permitted to continue claiming relief on goods or services provided from within the EEA until 31 March 2025. It is appropriate to refocus orchestra tax relief on UK expenditure now that the UK has left the EU. Under the new rule, the relief incentivises activity within the UK, rather than the UK and the EEA. This does not prevent qualifying productions from touring in the EEA (nor elsewhere).

When the Chief Secretary to the Treasury plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells on seizing frozen Russian assets, dated 16 January 2025.

The correspondence from the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells is receiving urgent attention and a response will be issued by HM Treasury in due course.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of expanding the Terms of Reference for the Independent Review of the Loan Charge to include (a) the effectiveness of the terms of the Loan Charge, (b) lessons learned by her Department in relation to the introduction of the Loan Charge and (c) the role of scheme promoters in promoting tax avoidance schemes.

The Government has commissioned an independent review of the Loan Charge to help bring the matter to a close for those affected whilst ensuring fairness for all taxpayers. The Government does not think it is right for people affected by the Loan Charge to have to wait years for any progress on bringing this matter to a close for them and has therefore ensured that the review has a focused remit, allowing it to report by this summer. The Government will respond by Autumn Budget 2025. Alongside the review, the Government is committed to tackling promoters of tax avoidance and will consult on measures to tackle promoters of marketed tax avoidance, including new powers focused on those who own or control promoter organisations and options to tackle legal professionals behind avoidance schemes.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of changes to orchestral tax relief on orchestras that rely on touring.

The UK provides world-leading support for orchestras: at Autumn Budget 2024, the Government confirmed that from 1 April 2025, the rate of OTR will be set at the generous rate of 45%. From April 2024, qualifying expenditure for the orchestra tax relief (OTR) is expenditure incurred on goods or services that are ‘used or consumed in the UK’, replacing the previous rule that qualifying costs were those incurred on goods/services provided from the UK or EEA.  To ease the transition to the new rule, orchestras with concerts in train on 1 April 2024 were permitted to continue claiming relief on goods/services provided from within the EEA until 31 March 2025. It is appropriate to refocus orchestra tax relief on UK expenditure now that the UK has left the EU. Under the new rule, the relief incentivises activity within the UK, rather than the UK and the EEA. This does not prevent qualifying productions from touring in the EEA (nor elsewhere).

If she will make it her policy to amend the definition of relevant carer in Section 23A of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 to include individuals unable to apply for Child Benefit due to (a) extenuating circumstances and (b) domestic abuse.

Parents and carers who claim Child Benefit automatically receive National Insurance credits until their child turns twelve. These credits count towards future State Pension entitlement. Where HMRC is made aware that a person is a victim of domestic abuse, consideration of their Child Benefit claim will be prioritised before other, standard claims. The Government recognises that some individuals may have missed out on entitlement towards their State Pension if they were eligible to claim Child Benefit but were unable or chose not to. This is why the Government is introducing a new NI credit for people who missed out on National Insurance credits because they did not claim Child Benefit, where no other successful claim to Child Benefit was made for the same period. The credit will be available to claim from April 2026. Transitional arrangements will be in place to ensure those affected from 2013 will be able to claim retrospectively. Information about the full range of National Insurance credits available, the criteria that must be met to be awarded them and guidance on how to apply for them, is provided on the Government website at: www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility.

What steps her Department is taking to support parents and carers who are survivors of domestic abuse that caused them to be unable to claim Child Benefit and National Insurance credits; and if she will take steps to support them.

Where HMRC is made aware that a person is a victim of domestic abuse, consideration of a claim for Child Benefit will be prioritised before other, standard claims. A Child Benefit claim can be backdated for a maximum of three months. However, only one person can be entitled to Child Benefit for the same period except in exceptional circumstances, those being fraud or misrepresentation. Parents and carers who are entitled to Child Benefit automatically receive National Insurance credits until their child turns twelve. These credits count towards their future State Pension entitlement. The government recognises that some individuals may have missed out on entitlement towards their State Pension if they were eligible to claim Child Benefit but did not do so. From April 2026 a new National Insurance credit will be introduced for people who missed out on the National Insurance credits because they did not claim Child Benefit and where no other successful claim to Child Benefit was made for the same period. There will be transitional arrangements in place that will allow people to claim the new credit retrospectively as far back as 2013.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of (a) increasing employers' National Insurance contributions, (b) increasing minimum wage and (c) cutting the business rates relief for retail, hospitality, and leisure on the hospitality sector.

An assessment of the changes to Employers’ National Insurance has been published by HMRC in their Tax Information and Impact Note, including impacts on the exchequer, the economy, individuals, households and families, equalities, and businesses including civil society organisations, alongside details on monitoring and evaluation. The National Minimum Wage (NMW) and National Living Wage (NLW) rates are set based on recommendations by the independent and expert Low Pay Commission (LPC). The government has asked the LPC to monitor the effects of the NLW and has given them a clear mandate to recommend a change of course where necessary. On business rates, for 2025-26, the government will provide a 40 per cent discount to Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) properties up to a cash cap of £110,0000 per business and has frozen the small business multiplier. This will save the average pub, with a rateable value (RV) of £16,800, over £3,300 in 2025. From 2026-27, the government intends to introduce permanently lower tax rates for RHL properties with an RV below £500,000. To sustainably fund this tax cut, the government intends to introduce a higher rate on the most valuable properties in 2026-27 - those with an RV of £500,000 and above. These represent less than one per cent of all properties.

If she will make an assessment of the potential merits of removing VAT on school uniforms.

VAT is a broad-based tax on consumption and the 20 per cent standard rate applies to most goods and services. VAT is the UK’s second largest tax forecast to raise £171 billion in 2024/25. Taxation is a vital source of revenue that helps to fund vital public services including schools and hospitals.Children’s clothing designed for young children, including branded school uniform, already benefits from VAT relief. To ensure that this relief is carefully targeted this relief is limited to clothing designed and labelled for children under the age of 14.Increasing the scope of this VAT relief to all school uniform would come at a cost to the Exchequer, with no guarantee that any reliefs would be passed on to consumers. We therefore have no plans to make changes here.

With reference to the planned reforms to agricultural property relief, what steps her Department will take to support farmers who have lost their exemption because their (a) spouse or (b) civil partner has died.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. The reforms mean that individuals can access 100% relief for the first £1 million of combined business and agricultural assets, and 50% relief thereafter - meaning an effective tax rate of up to 20% – regardless of their relationship status. Any liability can also be paid over 10 years interest free – a benefit that is not seen anywhere else in the inheritance tax system. It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR in 2026-27, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed reforms to agricultural property relief on farmers whose (a) spouse and (b) civil partner has died.

The Government published information about the reforms to agricultural property relief and business property relief at www.gov.uk/government/publications/agricultural-property-relief-and-business-property-relief-reforms. It is expected that up to around 2,000 estates will be affected by the changes to APR and BPR in 2026-27, with around half of those being claims that involve AIM shares. Almost three-quarters of estates claiming agricultural property relief (or those claiming agricultural property relief and business property relief together) are expected to be unaffected by these reforms. In accordance with standard practice, a tax information and impact note will be published alongside the draft legislation before the relevant Finance Bill.

What estimate she has made of the potential impact of disguised employment practices in the hair and beauty sector on (a) VAT and (b) National Insurance revenue.

HMRC has not estimated the size of the disguised employment risk in this sector.The Government is aware of concerns over the rent-a-chair model in the hair and beauty sector. When this model is operated properly, the Government considers it a legitimate working practice.